Stuck in a Snowstorm
by PsychoBlonde
Summary: John and a team is sent through the stargate to check out a planet, a routine mission but why does no one live on the planet? CONTAINS SLASH! John/Evan and some fluff. Read and enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**ONE**

Chaos in the gate room would have been the perfect name of a picture of someone decided to take a snapshot or paint a picture of the activity in the gate room one afternoon in Atlantis.  
John stood watching as people were frantically trying to remove the goo and sticky pink and yellow color which now graced the walls, after a failed mission on some weird planet, he had no idea which one it was, but because it somehow moved and liked to attached itself (the colors) to people, it had to be removed before the room could be used again. Time was slowly running short as there were a few gate teams ready for their scheduled travels.

It had been decided not too long ago, because of the flu going around which Teyla had caught along with half of the Atlantis staff, that gate teams would be put together, as almost no team for the time being was whole, and so John, major Lorne, Cadman, Markham and two other marines who were not sick would explore the planet 5XS-887 which had been found in the Ancients' database. There was not much information about it, only that it was uninhibited, and so a small team led by John was put together to check it out.

It was nice to get off Atlantis a bit, John was slowly going stir crazy being locked inside with all the sick people running around, forced to do paperwork because the gate travelling had been lessened because of the flu going around.

Staring at the moving spots of pink and yellow, John had to admit those scientists were tuff, they never gave up even when they had been trying to catch those moving spots for a few days already. Of course, some of it they had managed to catch but not all of it. John just hoped all of it would be gone before they would be leaving for the planet 5XS-887, he was really curious on what they would find on it. Usually of there was an description it often read, 'humid weather' or 'dangerous beasts', never anything about the people that could possibly live on the planet or not.

"I hope they catch those spots soon."

John did not need to turn around to know who it was that had spoken, he could feel the warmth of another body stepping up beside him.

"So do I, major Lorne, so do I," said John leaning against the rail, looking down at the gate room. He was standing on the commando bridge, packed and ready for them to depart.

"Everyone is ready to leave," said Evan, brushing up against John's arm, but discreetly enough so that no one would notice.

No one knew I, except for Carson, but for a few months almost a year now, Evan and him had been a pair, but because of the DADT could not show it. Even though in other countries it may be allowed, because they were both from the US army, the rule still applied to them. It pissed John off to no end, but legally or not, he would not let go of Evan that easily. Until the day don't ask don't tell would be removed, they would continue hiding their relationship from prying eyes, for their own sake and for the sake of getting to stay in Atlantis.

John took a deep breath; they were standing so close that he could smell the aftershave that Evan was using. Just as he was about to lean a bit closer to Evan, they were interrupted by Chuck.

"Colonel Sheppard? Major Lorne?"

"Yes," asked John, turning around to look at the man who had interrupted his thoughts, "what is it?"

"All the pink and yellow has been caught, Colonel Carter has given you a green light," said Chuck.

John gave Chuck a curt nod and a lazy grin before he pulled Evan with him down the stair to the gate room which now was empty except for the rest of their one time team. Cadman was sitting on the floor looking excited, Markham was speaking with Keegan, a lieutenant and a member of the SGA-4, whilst Gilson a quiet marine who was a member of SGA-6 was standing beside Cadman looking like he wanted to get going as fast as possible.

"Everyone ready?" asked John.

"Yes sir," said Cadman happily, "can we get moving? I want to get out of here, being stuck with all the sick guys is boring."

"Cadman…" Evan's voice was low but held a soft warning in it.

"Ok," said John signaling to Chuck on the commando bridge to dial the gate, "if you're all ready then let's get going."

A surge of excitement rushed through him, when he watched the blue thingy in the middle of the ring, he always felt when he went through it or just watched it. Having his gun ready, his reflexes tingling John stepped through the gate, Evan and Cadman not far after, Markham, Keegan and Gilson came last.

He was not worried about the mission, even if they would run into trouble, they were all experienced gate travelers and all of them had seen some pretty weird stuff, especially since they had came to the Pegasus Galaxy. Dangerous things happened on missions, at least he would not have to worry about anyone panicking or puking. John was secretly happy his team did not include anyone like that, if he of course did not count McKay's never ending whining. This was because his team was the 'number one team', the original SGA team (equaling the SG-1 team, John was so proud) and so they did not train people on it as they were one of the first contact teams on Atlantis. They only had four of these teams, SGA team, SGA-2 lead by Evan, SGA-3 , and SGA-4 with the most experienced gate travelers and 'best staff' as people joked on Atlantis, on these teams were lead by higher ranking officers and if there were any scientists they usually were a head of department or someone a bit more qualified or trained to use a gun.

Stepping through the gate on the other side, John looked around. It looked like most planets in the Pegasus Galaxy, it was not warm, warm but the sun was shining even though there was a small breeze.

"Looks nice enough, sir," said Cadman she too was looking around, "wonder why there isn't anyone living here."

"Well, keep your eyes open," said John, addressing all of the people on the team when he continued, "that goes for all of you. We'll look around a bit and then when day ends we get back to the gate and go home."

Getting a few 'yes sir' in return, John stalked over to where Evan was standing.

"It seems odd that no one lives here," said Evan, his voice was thoughtful, "I mean, the climate don't seem to be too different from the other planets only different is that the vegetation is very small, and seems to be growing close to the earth."

That was true, the gate was standing on a big field but not too far away there was a forest, a big one by the looks of it. The threes where big, sturdy and the forest was thick but they did not reach very high up, other than that there was nothing weird about the planet so far.

"Ok guys, let's move," called John.

It was quiet in the forest, no sounds of animals or much anything, except for the wind that had picked up a bit, howling over the tree tops, it was not yet chilly but you could definitely feel the change in the weather. John was walking first in the line with Evan beside him, they were talking a bit of this and that, after them came Markham, then Cadman who was bugging Gilson and Keegan by singing yellow submarine, walking between the two marines.

"I must say, they are handling the situation very well," said John in a mock whisper to Evan, looking back at Cadman and her antics.

"She's just excited to be back in the Pegasus Galaxy and out on a mission," said Evan smiling at John.

"Well as long as she doesn't annoy me," said John with a wry grin, "she can annoy whoever she wants to."

That got a laugh out of Evan, who smiled lovingly at him; John was overwhelmed by the urge to kiss those luscious lips. They were just perfect, soft and pink, tasting like Evan.

"John…" sighed Evan shaking his head a bit so that a few strands of his black hair fell into his eyes.

"What? I'm being practical, maybe we should start a course for the new recruits, 'how to handle Laura Cadman'," joked John almost laughing at the thought.

"I don't think that would go down very well with the SGC," said Evan but he too was trying to contain his laughter.

For some time they just walked around, looking at the trees and the few flowers on the ground, the wind picked up, and the sun was hidden behind thick grey clouds. John was almost sure that the temperature had dropped dramatically fast since they had arrived; he who had no problem with colder weather felt a few chills run through him. He felt a bit bad for Evan who did not like the cold and probably already had felt a bit chilly when they arrived.

"This is odd," said Cadman, looking between John and Evan, "is the weather supposed to act this way? I mean, I've never seen the temperature drop this fast, anywhere."

"Neither have I, sir," said Gilson in his usually calm voice. He was a big guy about Ronon's size, he had been on a gate team for many years and had seen quite a few odd things in the line of duty.

"Yeah," said John listening to the howling wind, the big drop in the temperature was slightly worrying him, "let's head back, don't think we want to get caught in whatever it is, that is happening."

Beside him he could feel Evan shiver in the cold wind.

"Sir?"

"What?" asked John, all his alarms going off in his head at the tone of Keegan's voice, he did not like the slight worry in it.

"It's about two degrees below zero right now, when we got here four hours ago it was 15 degrees above zero," said Keegan, his sea green eyes looking worriedly at John.

If Gilson was about the same height as Ronon, then Keegan was just a bit taller than Evan, standing at about 174-175. A gun expert, if the rumors were true then he did not miss his target often, but it was the eyes that people remembered when they saw him. If John would have met Keegan on the street then he would not have guessed than he was a marine, but John knew better than to underestimate the man.

Turning around they started hiking back towards the gate, but they did not get far before the weather got even worse, the wind picked up and then it happened.

"Wait!" screamed Cadman; the wind was so loud that screaming was the only way to be heard. "It's snowing!"

John felt like cursing but he held it in, Cadman was right. It had started to snow. Huge snowflakes fell from the grey sky.

At the rate which the temperature dropped and the snow was falling, John was at loss of words he had never seen the weather change so fast in his life. When they had gotten to the planet, it had been summer, now it was as if it was in the middle of the winter.

"We need to get back to the gate NOW!"

* * *

Love it? Hate it?  
Please review and tell me if you like it or not, so I'll know if it's worth putting out the whole story!  
I've written it all, and have it saved and completed on my computer so it won't take long for me to publish the whole thing :)


	2. Chapter 2

**TWO**

Getting back to the gate was not as easy as they had hoped. Under the four or so hours that they had been exploring, looking around, they had put quite a distance between themselves and the Stargate. John cursed their bad luck, this was supposed to be a none dangerous mission where they just looked around a bit and then got back to Atlantis, but then again when had things ever gone the way he wanted them to? Answer: never.

Snow was now falling in copious amounts, the wind had picked up even more and it was getting dark. John did not want to think of how much worse it must be outside the forest, no wonder there were almost no vegetation on the planet. He had never seen anything like this, in about twenty minutes it had gone from a somewhat strong wind to a full raging snowstorm, the bad news, they were not equipped with winter gear, their uniforms were not exactly made to keep out the cold.

"WE NEED TO FIND A PLACE TO WAIT OUT THE STORM!"

John could hear how the sound of his command was carried away by the strong wind, but thankfully the rest still seemed to understand what he was saying. Walking was heavy and John was ice cold, but they had to find a place where they were safe from the wind or else they would die there on the godforsaken planet.

Everything was slowly turning white, freezing, the ground was hard where it only an hour ago had been soft, the cold wind was biting and John could feel how he was losing the feeling in his cheeks. Looking backwards, John watch his teammates, Evan was not far behind him, Cadman and Markham were walking side by side, John could barely make out who was who and lastly came Keegan and Gilson or Gilson first Keegan who was smaller was using Gilson's bigger body as a some kind of shield against the wind.

"YOU OKAY?" John had to lean in, almost shouting Evan in the ear for the other man to hear him.

"YES, I JUST HOPE WE'LL FIND A PLACE TO HIDE FROM THIS WIND," shouted Evan.

For every step he took, John found it harder and harder to push on forward, but he would be damned before he gave up. If he had not been so tired then he would have jumped when he felt a cold hand grab his arm before it slid down to grip his hand. Looking to the side, even in the dire situation they were in, John could not stop from smiling at Evan who had grabbed his hand. Squeezing softly John continued to walk forward.

Evan was not sure what had made him do it, but now when he saw the soft smile on John's face and the warm feeling that spread through him even though John's hand was about as cold as his own, Evan was glad he had done it. DADT could kiss his ass; if he was going to die on some crazy planet then he had all the right to hold his lovers hand for a few minutes. He was chilled to the bone and his teeth were chattering, at least things could not get much worse than that.

"STOP!"

Evan stiffened and stopped, straining his ears. The voice, if there had been a voice sounded too much like Cadman for his own liking. John stood stiffly beside him; he too looked as if he was trying to hear something. He did not say anything when John let go of his hand, both solely concentrated on figuring out, who it was that had shouted.

"CADMAN! MARKHAM! KEEGAN! GILSON!" shouted John, only for it to be whisked away by the wind.

"COLONEL!"

It was Markham's voice, noted John walking straight back in his own tracks, which were already covered by new snow. Not that Markham was far behind; Cadman was leaning heavily on him, looking half dead. Gilson and Keegan were also there, teeth chattering.

"WE HAVE TO REST!" shouted Markham, his voice calm but John could see it in his eyes that he was almost on the verge of panicking.

They all huddled together in a small ring, trying to keep the wind at bay for a moment, but also for the small warmth, and the fact that this way they would not have to shout as hard to be heard.

"What're we going to do, Colonel?" shouted Markham who still was supporting Cadman with Keegan's help.

"We need to keep moving to keep the warmth; we can't afford to stop for too long if we can't find a place to stay. We're too far away from the Stargate, with at least 20 km," shouted John, trying to keep the worry out of his voice. Cadman was almost spend, but the rest of them were not far behind, Keegan had a glassy look in his eyes, Evan was so cold his teeth were chattering so hard that John could hear it over the howling wind, Markham, Gilson and himself were not in much better shape.

"You take the lead Major, I'll help Markham with Cadman, Gilson and Keegan keep close," ordered John.

A murmur of 'yes sir' went around the small group and a small nod from Evan. Not another minute was wasted, taking Keegan's place beside Cadman, John put one arm around her waist while he placed one of her arms around his neck, because of the height differences', John had to crouch a bit but he could live with it. Markham did the same on Cadman's other side, slowly started they to walk forward one step behind Evan so that they would not lose sight of him. Keegan and Gilson were about one step behind John, Markham and Cadman, walking closely beside each other trying to preserve some heath between them.

John was worried, his heart pounding in his chest, he had never been afraid of the dark, but the darkness on the planet was different, and because of the bad sight it was almost impossible to see where they were stepping. He was not really concentrating on anything, the wind whistling in his ears, ice cold snow hitting him in the face, the cold pressing through his uniform and all the way into his bones, when a sickening crack was heard and John lost the sight of Evan's figure in front of him.

Everything happened so fast, John dove forward, barley having the time to stop when he saw a hole in the ground, and he saw the water. It must be a lake but because of the cold weather it had frozen over but the ice was not thick enough to walk on, and because of all the snow it had been covered, Evan who had not know that had fallen in.

A head appeared in the somewhat big whole, but John knew Evan would not have the strength to hold for a longer time, they would have to get him out immediately.

"MAJOR!" shouted John, he was panicking, he knew it but at the moment he could not feel anything else but a slowly rising terror in his stomach when he watched Evan struggle in the icy cold water.

"GILSON, GIVE ME A ROPE, HURRY!"

John did not need to say it twice; he had barely finished his sentence when Gilson was there with a long rope made into a lasso. With rising horror, John watched as Gilson threw the rope, one time, two times and then on the third try it reached all the way. A cracking sound of ice breaking was heard and for a second John thought all was over, but the ice held and Gilson got Evan pulled up on land.

Shivering and coughing Evan's lips were almost blue, his eyes were unfocused, John did not care that he too would get wet and pulled Evan into a tight hug. For a moment everything went still, it was as if time stopped altogether, Evan was alive and in John's arms, not unscathed but alive.

It was as if John got new strength, standing up he supported Evan who was looking more, dead than alive, looked at the others he was determined to find a place where they could wait out the storm. Something in his gut told him that this was still just the beginning of it, there _had _to be a cave or something on this planet.

Walking, walking through the forest, sometimes it would be denser and at points they had almost no cover from the storm, but they kept on walking. Keegan helped support Cadman while Gilson was carrying, his own and Evan's pack which was now completely frozen. John was quietly chanting in his head, praying that they would all make it back to Atlantis, safe and sound. This mission had turned very fast very dangerous.

There was no saying what time it was, they had already at the start of the storm that their watches did not like cold, and because of the storm they had no idea how far they had walked or if they had just been walking in circles.

Stopping for a moment panting hard, John turned around letting out a relieved sigh, they were all still there hanging on, looking worn, tired and cold but still alive. Evan was shuddering, coughing his breathing was ragged, but John knew they needed to get him warm fast, the risk of Evan dying was getting bigger and bigger for every second that passed.

"SIR! LOOK!"

John stared at Keegan for a minute before he let his eyes wander to where the other man was pointing looking somewhat relieved, stopping a few meters ahead of them. If he had been a religious person he would probably have thanked god or something like that, but as he was not he just thanked whatever good luck he had left that maybe, just maybe they would get out of this alive.

Not too far ahead of them towered the contours of a mountain/cave. John had to rub his eyes, to see that he was not seeing things, hallucinating was not unheard of in these kind of situations, but the contours were still there when he reopened his eyes. A small laugh left his lips, and he was filled with new energy, forcing his frozen body to move forward, John motioned for the others to continue walking. They too seemed to gain some strength from knowing that there may still be some hope for them.

Trudging forward, John played it like a mantra in his head, 'please let it be a cave, please let it be a cave…', not for himself but for the men on his team, they had all shown great strength and courage. No one of them had uttered a single word of complaint, or panicked when things started to get dangerous, John could not have been more proud of them than he was at that moment.

"COME ON, DON'T GIVE UP NOW!" shouted John over his shoulder and on the same time doing a body count to make sure no one was gone. Everyone was there, sticking close to each other so as not to fall behind or get lost.

It was further away than he had first thought, but slowly, slowly they got closer to the mountain, it was not a huge one, but still big enough for them to probably find some kind of shelter by the rocks. At least John hoped so; they were in dire need of some rest. Tightening his grip around Evan's waist, John continued forward his eyes never straying from the mountain.

Just as he was about to give up, his legs almost buckling underneath him, John stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes staring right ahead of him. Markham and Keegan, who were dragging Cadman along, almost walked straight into him and Evan. Never in his life had he felt so happy to see a small opening in a huge rock wall. If he were to go by the almost happy laughs of Markham and Keegan behind him, then he would say they too were damn happy to see the small opening.

"COME ON!" shouted John, not much more encouragement was needed.

Because of the wind and the bad sight, it took them a moment or two to get everyone inside, through the small opening but when they all were safe, John felt all then energy in his body melt away. Sinking to the cave floor, the others not far after huddling together they just sat there breathing hard. A low chough from Evan, was enough for John to kick back into action, he could not afford to just fall down in a heap on the ground he had to help Evan.

"I know you're all tired but right now we can't afford to slag," said John, he had kicked himself right back into Colonel mode. "Markham make sure Cadman is okay, Gilson you and Keegan find some sticks if there are any and make a fire," ordered John.

From what he could see, the cave was not overly big but that was good, because it meant the warmth would be concentrated and keep them warmer but it also meant that the chance of finding some firewood was smaller. John started to dig through his pack for the dry clothes he kept in it, and the two blankets he always had with him, which now would be needed more than ever. He could see from the corner of his eye that Markham was looking through his and Cadman's pack, for their blankets and extra clothing that was standard equipment for an SGA team member. Turning his attention back to Evan, John was taken by total surprise when he felt a heavy blanket connect with his head.

"Sorry sir, I just thought the major probably needs it more than anyone else," said Markham, from where he was sitting on beside Cadman who was lying on one of her own blankets, with both one of Markham's on top of her, Markham had curled up in his other blanket.

"Thank you Markham," said John, trying to form a smile but it came out more as a grimace.

Placing the thickest one of the blankets on the ground of the cave and the other one so that it was up against the wall, John took off his shirt, before he started to strip Evan of his clothes, wrapping him in one of the blankets. Leaning against the wall, John with Evan in his lap, so that the third blanked was covering them both, Evan's shivering body pressed up against John's not as cold body. For once, John was happy that the blankets they had to take with them were so big.

No one spoke in the cave, Gilson and Keegan came back, with some firewood, not much overly but at least they would get at least a small fire burning. John watched as the fire crackled, and how the two men seemed to sit as close as possibly, to keep themselves warm. Just a millimeter too close for two friends, but then again their survival instincts were probably screaming a bit louder than those of their friendship. Either way John did not care, he did not have the strength to care, and whatever they wanted to do together was none of his business, if they were together then he was happy for them.

* * *

And so the second chapter was done  
Like always I happily accept reviews :D


	3. Chapter 3

**THREE**

He was not sure if he had dozed off for a minute, but when his head cleared a bit he felt a bit better and Cadman seemed to have gained some strength even though she was still very pale. Everyone was sitting as close to the fire as humanly possible without getting burned. Someone had placed Evan's clothes hanging by the side of the fire to dry.

John took the offered time to study the members on this makeshift team. Markham he knew quite well, being a member of Evan's team who usually came to his team's rescue, the younger man was sitting shoulder to shoulder with Cadman, nibbling on an energy bar. Cadman was sleeping lightly; she had regained some color to her cheeks, looking a bit better than when they had stumbled into the small cave. Moving his gaze, John's eyes fell on the two last people of his team; Gilson was sitting like him up propped against the stone wall with a blanket behind him, with Keegan in his lap. Keegan was asleep, eyes closed and mouth slightly ajar but no sound came out of it, which was probably good, John was not sure that he could stand snoring at the moment.

All of them had bundled up, and put on their extra clothes that fit in under their uniforms for extra warmth. Just thinking of the cold, and the small gust of wind that blew into the cave, John tightened his hold around Evan's waist.

"How's the Major?" John looked up, it was Gilson who had asked.

"Not so good, but at least he isn't shaking like a leaf, as he did some time ago," said John, his voice barely above a whisper, after all the shouting he was not up for much talking. He was sure he would get a very sore throat when they got back to Atlantis, if they got back.

"What are we going to do?" this time it was Markham who asked.

"At the moment? Regain our strength, try to rest and then we'll see," said John, for there was not much more they could do, being dead on their feet would not make the track back to the Stargate any easier. "How's Cadman?"

"She's okay, it didn't take long for her to fall asleep, sir," said Markham.

"Good, good, Gilson? Keegan?"

"I'm okay," said Gilson, looking down at Keegan who was still dead to the world, "Kyle's okay too, just a bit tired sir."

Again they fell into a comfortable silence, thinking of their situation. No one had much strength to speak either, and they would all need as much energy as possible. Somehow John managed to reach his pack without disturbing Evan, finding the few energy bars he had packed with him.

Before now, he had not felt the hunger being too worried about Evan and finding a place to hide from the storm, but now he could feel the hollow feeling in his stomach. Never in his life had an energy bar tasted so good, it took almost all of John's self control not to moan when he took a bite.

**STARGATE: ATLANTIS  
**

Colonel Samantha "Sam" Carter was worried, Sheppard's team had missed their check-in time, and they were unable to get in contact with the team. With Sheppard and Lorne's track records for ending up in weird and possible dangerous situations, she knew they probably were not in too much trouble, the planet was uninhibited and so the chance was bigger that something weird was keeping them, but Sam could not shake the gut feeling she had that something else was going on, something which was leaning closer to the dangerous category than weird.

Pacing up and down on the commando bridge, Sam almost collided with McKay and two other scientists who were meteorologists'. They were all panting heavily from an obviously long run, looking a bit panicked.

"Oh my, what's going on?" asked Sam.

"We need to get them off that damn planet now!" almost shouted McKay who had gotten his breath back, the fastest, waving around with a heap of papers, which he almost showed into her face.  
Sam was no meteorologist but even she understood the graveness of the situation when she watched the diagrams and the carefully made report from the scientists.

"Oh my god," muttered Sam in horror. "This… this…"

"Exactly," exclaimed McKay, his eyes were big and crazy in that way they only got when Colonel Sheppard was involved or they had found some knew piece of Ancient technology.

"How did you figure it out?"

"Well," started one of the other scientists, Rogers who was from England, the only thing that she knew of the other woman. "We used one of the ancient devices, and so we could make a prognosis on what kind of climate and what the temperature was on the planet, if there are seasons or…"

"Basically we found out that there are some drastic changes in the temperature," said McKay sounding very impatient, "it goes all the way from about 100 degrees Celsius above zero to the same degrees below zero, we are talking about colder weather than on Antarctica and warmer than in the warmest desert!"

"Yes, that's why there is no life on the planet, nothing can really withstand such sudden and drastic changes in the temperature, especially when we're only talking about a few days," explained Dr Rogers wringing her hands nervously, "Colonel Sheppard and the rest went through the gate when the temperature was dropping only a few days before the temperature was over 100 degrees Celsius above zero, now there should already be quite the winter weather, closer to that what you find in Scandinavia in January or February, in a matter of a day or two maybe even hours there will be colder than on Antarctica and they only have summer clothes and no shield from the cold."

Sam really did not like the sound of that, but they could not do much, except for waiting. They had no idea where Sheppard and the rest where, and they could not risk sending a search party as long as the bad weather was raging on the other side of the gate, Sam could not risk anyone getting stuck there on the planet in the cold weather.

Taking a deep breath, Sam turned to McKay praying to the gods that no one would do anything stupid, she was not sure whether McKay would hate her more or she hate herself more after what she would have to tell him.

"At the moment we cannot do anything, we must just hope and pray that they'll get through it alive," said Sam.

"WHAT? You… you can't do that!" burst McKay out looking scandalized, "we have to get them back!"

"McKay… Rodney we can't, we have no idea where they are and if the weather really is as bad as you say then we can't afford send anyone, it's almost a certain death trap! I want help but right now, my hands are bound. Sorry."

She did not wait for McKay to say something; instead Sam turned around and went back to her pacing. It was hard; she could feel McKay's eyes staring into her back, silently accusing her of leaving people under her command behind. Sam knew that if Sheppard, Major Lorne, Markham, Cadman, Gilson and Keegan did not all get back alive and well then McKay would never forgive her. Sometimes it was hard being the commander, especially on a place like Atlantis.

**STARGATE: ATLANTIS**

Waking up Evan did not first know where he was, feeling disorientated, his head felt heavy and he was chilled to the bone. He could barely move his body, all his limbs feeling as if they weighted a hundred kilograms each. Evan groaned, moving he felt his face brush up against something warm and steady, something moving up and down…

"Uh…," groaned Evan.

"Hey." A soft voice spoke to him, and then he felt a warm hand brush over his head. Evan Winced when he felt the hand touch a very sore spot on his head, he must have hit it. "Evan, can you hear me?"

He knew that voice, it was soft and caring, slowly as if waking up from a very heavy sleep Evan felt the dizziness go away, the thick fog leaving his brain.

"John?" murmured Evan, and for the first time did he notice that he was naked, leaning against a bare chest, a pair of arms around his waist keeping him warm. He could feel the blush rise all the way from his neck up to his cheeks.

"How're you feeling? You fell through the ice," said John, the others had dozed off, the only sound in the cave coming from the small fire.

"I did?"

"Yeah, gave me quite the scare," said John, letting his fingers brush over the small bump he could feel at the back of Evan's head. "I think you hit your head, I don't think you've got a concussion but…"

"Where are we?"

"In a cave, we were lucky when we found it, but I don't think we can wait out the storm here," said John looking concerned, "since we got here it has gotten colder, and my gut is telling me that we need to get back to the gate."

"I sense a but," said Evan quietly looking up at John for the first time since he woke up.

"I have no idea where we are right now, but it's far from the gate at least 15 kilometers, and in this storm it won't go fast and I having no idea in which direction we should go," said John with a defeated sigh, tightening his hold on Evan.

Evan nuzzled closer to John, pressing his cheek to John's chest, trying to keep the cold outside the blankets, for once he was happy that they had to drag so much stuff around with them on missions.

"I love you and I'm glad you're here with me," whispered Evan softly, not looking up at John but he could feel John's body tense and then relax more.

"I love you too," whispered John, not caring if the others heard them, he was just happy that Evan was somewhat okay, falling into a lake in the middle of a snowstorm was not a children's game.

Sitting there it was hard to know how much time had passed, Evan had fallen back asleep, totally spend and John did not want to wake him, the tiniest of energy could be what decided if they got through this dead or alive, Evan would be needing all the energy he could get. He knew that it was madness but they had to get back to the gate, and they had not a second to waste.

John could feel how his eyes felt heavy and he let himself rest for a moment. It was pitch black outside, they would move on in the morning, at least Evan's clothes seemed dry enough, and they would need all the light they could get, if they were to find back to the gate.

When he woke up, he could not have slept for a very long time but at least he felt a bit better, John could hear Markham and Cadman talking in low voices on their side of the fire. Gently shaking Evan awake, John looked around the small cave, the fire was still going and John noticed that someone had thrown tissues into the fire to keep it going, must be Cadman, she always carried around heaps of tissues in case she would need them.

"Morning Colonel," said Cadman, looking much healthier than she had done the evening before.

"Morning Cadman," said John, helping Evan up so that he could get dressed, keeping a steadying hand on his back. "Gilson, Keegan you two awake?"

"Yes sir." Came from both, albeit a bit sluggishly.

"Okay here's the deal guys," said John looking everyone in the eyes, his voice tight, "we really need to get back to the gate, we've got no food and we're all tired but we can't do much about it, and we have no idea how long this storm will last. Something tells me it'll get worse so I want to get a good start so that we maybe will reach the gate by night fall, at least before anyone dies."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, sir?" asked Keegan looking a bit worried.

"No I'm not sure, but if we want to survive then we have to at least try," said John.

"When we came the sun was shining behind the gate, and whether you're on earth or in another galaxy the sun always rises and goes down in the same direction at least on Atlantis it does," said Gilson, as calm and collected as if they were just training, John had to fight the urge to kiss and hug the guy, he was so proud. He really wondered what could make the guy lose his cool, not that he wanted to try.

"It's colder outside," stated Markham.

"Yeah I know," said John with a small sigh, "but it'll just continue getting colder so the faster we leave maybe we won't get stuck in the worst of the storm, I hope."

"Come on, we need to get moving," said Evan standing up from where he had been sitting, he still looked tired and he was shivering but he had that gleam in his eyes that told John he was determined to get to the get, he was in full Major Lorne mode.

"You heard the major," said John, clapping his hands twice, "put on all clothing you've got and try to cover your faces, we need to move fast and keep close!"

John took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment praying to anyone who would listen to him, to let him get everyone back to Atlantis safe, before he stepped out from the cave, the icy cold wind tearing at him. The ground was thick with snow, and more was falling from the skies.

Hell had never felt more real than it did at that moment.

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	4. Chapter 4

**FOUR**

He had no idea for how long they had walked or where they were, frozen to the bone John was moving forward thanks to sheer willpower. They were walking in a somewhat straight line trying to find their way back to the gate; he sincerely hoped that they were on the right track and that they were not going in the wrong direction. Walking in a line he was the one with the heaviest burden, John was very aware of the tight grip Evan had on his arm so that they would not lose sight of each other, he also knew that Cadman had an exactly the same steel grip around Evan's arm. The others were managing, having a short stump of rope which they could use, leaving their hands free.

Hunger was ripping at him, but there was not much to do about that, but he had survived before on tight rationings and little food so he could do it now too. Even though it was a bit different from usual, now they all needed as much energy as possible to keep up the heath in their bodies and to for them to keep going forward. It had been some time since he had started to lose the feeling in his body, especially his cheeks and fingers, being the most exposed to the ice cold wind.

There was only one good thing with this stupid planet and the freak storm and that was he had time to think, before this yes he knew he loved Evan and he cared for the man, but before this, before Evan fell through the ice he had not understood exactly how much he cared. When he had thought Evan died, for a moment John had not been able to think, it had felt as if his heart had stopped moving. Now he knew he would not be able to live without Evan by his side. Marriage was not exactly an option but sharing a life was.

He would be damned before he was going to let Evan die; they would get through this together. John shuddered when an extra vicious wind blew past, distracting him for his thoughts for a second. It was a bit ironic that it took him a weird planet in another Galaxy and Evan almost dying for him to understand what Evan really, in the deepest part of his heart, meant to him.

Not that John was the only one thinking over their loved ones. Evan was thinking of his relationship with John and hoping they would get out of the death trap called 5XS-887, he was not ready giving up on the one guy he thought may just be the one. Markham was thinking of his lover, regretting not making his emotions more clear before they departed for the mission but at that time, it had still been a normal check out get back mission, now it was the possible last resting place for them.

Gilson and Keegan walking last in the line, had their fingers entwined walking hand in hand, it was not as if anyone would notice it in the bad weather and even worse sight that came with it. They had been together for some time now, even before either one of them came to Atlantis, but because of the DADT they were forced to act as best friends, which they were but still…

Dale Robert Gilson, age 28 had been placed into the Stargate program at the age of 23 where he had met Kyle, who had been there for about a year already even though he was younger, having been recruited straight from the air force academy. Dale was a marine but they had hit it off right at the start, and it had not taken them long before they understood that there were more feelings involved than just those of friendship. There had not been much time for dating, as both of them were very busy, each of them being on a SG team but they made it work. Then Atlantis was discovered and it took a while before anyone heard of the expedition, Dale was first to go of the two. He had now been on Atlantis for about three years; Kyle who had joined him not long after was only a few months from him having spent two full years on Atlantis.

Thinking of Kyle always made him happy, and right know he was being pushed by the burning force inside of him wanting to have Kyle safely back on Atlantis as fast as possible and not stuck on this godforsaken planet. He had always felt a bit protective of Kyle, Dale knew his partner could take care of himself he had seen him take down guys without breaking a sweat, but it did not stop him from worrying. Was it because of Kyle's size, he was built a bit like a swimmer slim and lean, or because of his more gentle looks earning a lot of nicknames like 'princess' and 'missy', Dale was not sure but as long as Kyle did not seem to mind, then he would keep on doing it.

Keegan like Dale was thinking of their relationship, and even though it was weird he was happy that Dale was also there. He was a black belt in karate and judo and he could use a variety of weapons but Dale always managed to make him feel safe, wherever they where or the situation they were in. He was not sure of he would have managed this far without Dale there by his side.  
Wind, snow, ice it was as if the planet was throwing all it had at them, trying to break them down. Whether it was hours, minutes or seconds, no one knew how much time passed, it was as if time stood still. Attacked by the harsh weather conditions they could do nothing but walk forward and hope for the best, that they were walking in the right direction.

There was no talking, no nothing even though they were together; they were still alone, alone in hell, fighting their own demons.

Teeth chattering, cheeks and fingers almost frozen solid, they continued forward. John was lightheaded but dared not stop, fearing that he would not be able to get his body moving again if he did. Evan was no longer gripping John's arm; instead he was walking with his hands hidden in his sleeves, trying to keep the little feeling in his fingers that he had left.

Suddenly they were out of the forest, the only thing they could see was snow laying in heaps on the ground as long as their eyes could reach.  
Letting his gaze travel over the plains, something caught his eye, a black round shape in the distance ahead of them. John was not one who believed in miracles but when he saw the gate ahead of them, but nothing short but a miracle could have made it possible for them to get back to the gate alive.

"IS THAT?" shouted Cadman, he voice caught by the wind barely a whisper when it reached John's ears.

"YES!" shouted John back at her, "ITS THE GATE!"

The Stargate was further away than he had thought at first, and for a second John doubted his eyes, but the gate stood where it had stood since it had been built. Plowing through the deep snow, John was glad he was tall, Evan, Cadman and Keegan were probably pretty tired by now, having had to walk through snow coming up all the way to their thighs.

"Oh God," muttered John, relief washed over him like a flood. "MARKHAM! DIAL THE GATE!"

Relief, happiness, joy and gratitude lay heavy around them. Cadman was so happy that she could cry, still clutching the back of Major Lorne's jacket as if her life depended on it. Markham had never been so happy to dial the gate; a surge of urgency came over him he did not want to stay on the planet a second longer. Dale even managed to crack a smile, Kyle was barely standing but he too was happy, his body sagging a bit at the knowledge that they would get back to Atlantis.

Straight in the back, steps heavy but firm John stepped through the gate, the others not even a step behind him. They had found their way back home from the deepest pit of Hell.

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	5. Chapter 5

**FIVE**

It was two days since the Colonel and his team had stepped through the gate, there had been no contact since then and Sam was slowly losing hope in seeing them again. McKay had been giving her the cold shoulder since their last talk, he was working restlessly trying to find away to find a way to get in contact with them. Sam knew she should not give up but with the reports about the course the weather was taking on the planet, there was not a big chance Colonel Sheppard, Major Lorne and the rest would get out of it alive.

She was in such deep thoughts that she did not notice McKay storming into her office, before he had flung the door open with a bang, shouting at her.

"They're alive! They're alive!"

"W-what?"

"Major Lorne sent his IDC, and quite frankly they're the only ones on a mission right now, hurry!"

Making a mad dash for the door, Sam flung herself down the stairs and to the gate room, McKay hot on her heals. She was just on time, seeing as six freezing, huddled together bowed as to keep as much of the small warmth they could out, covered in snow figures stumbled through the gate.

When Evan came through the gate he was more unconscious than conscious, stumbling through the gate away from the mind numbing cold and into the warmth. It was such a change that he almost felt his body go into shock, Cadman was still gripping his jacket.

A team of doctors with Beckett leading was hurrying to help them and a somewhat muted shriek was heard and a cracking sound behind him and then he did not feel Cadman's hand on his back anymore. Her hand must have frozen in the cold weather, Evan shuddered at the pain she must have felt when they pretty much wrenched her hand free.

John was breathing heavily; his whole body was shaking from exhaustion. He felt a bit dizzy, scarcely taking notice of Carson who was standing beside him trying to get him to the infirmary before everything went black.

**STARGATE: ATLANTIS**

Carson was so worried, riding on adrenaline by the night that he was barely able to slow down when things had gotten steadier. Falling through the ice, major injuries like frozen fingers and noses were serious injuries, especially as no one of the wounded would be able to continue serving on Atlantis, if a part of them were amputated, Carson was thankful he did not have to amputate anyone.

They had had to lower the temperature in the infirmary a bit, so they would not go into shock as Private Keegan had done in the gate room because of the change in the temperature. Sitting down on a chair, Carson rubbed his face with a tired sigh. He prayed there would be no complications, why had he let Sheppard and major Lorne go on a mission together? They were both trouble magnets in their own ways, something odd or dangerous always happened. Either one of them always getting kidnapped forcing the other one to go on a rescue mission, Carson swore that together those two spend the most time in the infirmary, almost more than he himself did and he was the doctor. For some time now he had known of their relationship, but as a civilian and a supporter of minorities, was glad for them.  
Carson liked both John and Evan, counting both the men as his friends, and also they deserved each other, it was kind of cute to watch them. Not that he would ever admit that out loud, it was not as if he was spying on them, he had just seen them once or twice showing a bit more emotions in the infirmary when no sane person would be up and wandering. He had only seen them because he had been looking through some files and forgot the time, and had seen them on his way to his own quarters.

Checking that no one had woken, and that they were sleeping peacefully in their beds, Carson headed out of the infirmary, if he was lucky then he would catch a few hours of sleep before he would be needed again. There was not a big chance than anyone of them would wake up before the next day, they had been exhausted, tired and hungry fighting for their lives whilst walking through a snow storm.

Switching off the lights, Carson slipped out of the empty infirmary, except for its patients.

John was groggy and disoriented when he woke up, his body felt as if it was made of stone, heavy and unresponsive. He had almost worked himself into panic when he felt his body respond to the messages his brain was sending it.

Blinking, his eyes swept over the room, he was in the infirmary. It was warm but he still felt chilly, as if he had taken that damned wind back with him to Atlantis. Moving around on the bed, John pulled up the extra blanket lying by his feet on the bed all the way over his head.

Groaning when he felt his body relax a bit.

"Colonel?" asked a voice but it was obvious who it was, there was only one person on Atlantis speaking with that Scottish accent. "Colonel? John? How're you feeling?"

"Beckett… I'm fine," said John reemerging from underneath the blanket. His hair sticking out even more so than usual.

"Let me be the judge of that lad," said Beckett, giving John a skeptical look.

Like the rest John suffered mostly from fatigue, frostbite and fever. A cold, heavy fever and flu was something none on the team would be able to dodge, what the long term effect would be of this small stunt Carson did not know yet. Most of them had not yet woken up from after they had been sedated the evening before. Right now it was only John and Gilson who had woken up.

"Well considering how you usually are when you come back from a mission and how bad it could be, Colonel I dare say you are ok, not good and certainly not well enough to leave the infirmary but ok," said Carson, watching the small glimmer of hope, that had started to shine in John's eyes at the thought of getting out of there, stopped to shine and disappeared.

"I feel fine, Doc," said John giving Carson his best puppy eye look.

"John… you have just walked at least 20 kilometers through a snow storm which you probably don't even find on Antarctica, even if you felt wonderful I'd keep you here for a day or two to make sure that you're absolutely fine," lectured Carson.

For a second Carson thought John would argue or try to wriggle his way out of the infirmary like he usually did, sitting quietly on his bed looking like he was thinking hard. Not that he would ever find out what the Colonel was thinking at that moment, because just as he was about to tell John to lie back on the bed, a groan rose from the bed beside John's.

It was Major Lorne.

Carson had not even registered the groan before John had jumped off his own bed and hurried over to the Major's side, stroking the Major's hair talking softly under his breath to the other man.

"J-John?"

"Evan, oh god," muttered John a sound of relief escaping him, "I thought…. I thought…"

He had never seen John act the way he did, showing so much raw emotion, not hidden behind a mask or kept back. Carson felt bad but he had to make sure that Major Lorne was okay and he knew neither of them would want to be apprehended in such a position.

"Colonel, if you'd give me some space?" asked Carson tapping the Colonel gently on the shoulder, "I need to make sure the Major is okay."

A muted nod was the only answer he got. Doing a swift but throughout examination, Carson was happy that Lorne was alive; after all falling into a lake was not something to be joked about. It was a very effective way of catching hypothermia and die. Major Lorne was lucky to only catch the start of hypothermia, worst case scenario was that he would be bedridden for a few weeks, feeling cold with a fever and everything witch accompanied a flu, but at least he would be alive.

With his teeth chattering Evan felt tired and his brain foggy, it was good if he could catch every third word coming out of Dr Beckett's mouth. He had a hard time concentrating; it felt as if he would never be warm again.

"How do you feel, Major?"

"C-cold," stuttered Evan his voice raspy, "a… and tired."

Carson nodded. He was not surprised at the answer. Letting his eyes wander Carson watched John out of the corner of his eye, the man was not even trying to hide his feelings then again maybe he should cut them some slack after all they had gone through in the past few days. Watching John shiver where he stood to stubborn to go back to his own warm bed but on the same time worried enough about his lover not to care about his own needs.

He could not say that he ever had had felt the need to scream eureka, but for once if it were not for the fact that he was standing in the infirmary he would have done it, a small smile crept onto his face. He knew there was a reason to why he always placed the Major in one of the corners of the infirmary where it was a bit warmer and with curtains for privacy, it could not have been more fitting than now. And if someone would get the need to ask why, then that person sure was stupid, after all, everyone knew that body heat was the best way to keep warm.

"Colonel," said Carson in his best doctor voice, "if you're not going to use your own bed then you can help keep the Major warm."

"What?" asked John, the surprise clear in his voice.

"To make it simple, lie down beside him, he needs warmth and you don't have anything better to do, it's not as if there's any difference to you in which bed you sleep in," said Carson, congratulating himself on being sneaky.

Stepping away from the bed, Carson took the extra blankets from John's bed, gave one to the Colonel whilst folding the other one neatly laying it back onto the bed. When he was done with that, he took one last look at the now two sleeping men in the somewhat small hospital bed. John was lying with his back towards the rest of the infirmary with Evan safely lying in his arms, stuck between John and the wall.

Closing the curtains around the bed, creating a tiny corner room, Carson moved on to his other patients. Markham seemed to have waked up, rubbing his eyes no even trying to sit up. His nose had gotten quite the bad frostbite but it would get better after a while. Stackhouse was sitting on a chair beside the bed, acting like the concerned friend that he was but Carson knew better, not many secrets could be kept from him especially if something happened in the infirmary.

Feeling generous Carson cleared his throat, as not to scare the man, shooing Stackhouse off the chair so that he could make sure Markham was well.

"Well lad, I'll keep you here for a few days and then we'll see how things have progressed but as it's now I'd say you'll make a full recovery," said Carson, patting Markham on the shoulder. "Are you cold?"

Markham nodded but did not say anything; he had not said a word under the whole time Carson was prodding and poking him.

"Get out of your clothes and get into the bed," ordered Carson, pointing first at a bewildered Stackhouse before he pointed at the bed Markham was lying in.

"Excuse me?" spluttered Stackhouse, looking wildly around himself, making sure the infirmary was empty.

"Oh come on lad," said Carson with a sigh, "Markham is cold, you're worried, body heat is the best way to stay warm. You don't have to worry about any rules here, right now he only needs to concentrate on getting better and you can help him by keeping him warm."

Carson left when Stackhouse started to strip, he would need to find another screen or curtain. Next in the row was Cadman. She was almost worse off, if you did not count the Major. Her fingers had taken a hard hit, when they had had to wrench them lose from Major Lorne's jacket; he had been worried they would brake completely but they did not. Right now, it looked as if she would get to keep all her fingers but if they did not get better then they would have to amputate them. She was still asleep, her chest moving up and down in a steady pattern. He would let her sleep a bit longer before he would make sure that she was okay, instead Carson continued to the next bed.

Gilson had been the first to wake not long before John, and was now resting in his bed. Two heavy blankets covering him almost completely from head to toe.

"Still feeling okay?"

"Yes sir," said Gilson sitting up on the bed, "a bit cold but I expect that is normal after something like that…"

"I'm afraid you're right," said Carson smiling a bit at the marine, "but don't worry it'll pass, has Keegan stirred yet?"

"He moved but he hasn't opened his eyes yet," said Gilson looking over at the bed beside his own. His face was blank but Carson could see the worry in Gilson's eyes.

In a way people would think that Carson would be surprised at how many same sex couples there really were on Atlantis, or to be more specific gay people but he was not. Not long after they had arrived on Atlantis and already before that he had started some serious research on the ATA gene, and it showed that people with the gene were more probable to be gay or bisexual. Carson had never found out why, and because he had been forced to stop his research he had never found out why, but he suspected that there was some biological explanation to it. Even though the ancients were a lot alike people, there were still many differences that separated the ancients from everyone else.

Carson knew there was not a big chance that he would ever get an opportunity to continue his research and find out why things were as they were, but he could always hope. It was such a fascinating study, after all if there turned out to be some biological reason why the people are gay/bisexual then maybe the army would reconsider the DADT. Because at the moment the rule was doing more harm than good.

"Keegan? Are you awake, lad?" asked Carson.

A quiet murmur was the only answer he got but he took it as a good sign when Keegan's eyelashes fluttered and the sleeping man stirred. Not quite awake but not asleep either.

Carson motioned for Gilson to move over to Keegan's bed, the man looked oddly at him first but complied without a second thought.

"Call me when he wakes fully," said Carson before he continued to look for those curtains to keep out unwanted eyes and attention. It was not good trying to force a recovery and having some privacy from prying eyes was always a plus. He had promised himself he would not be chasing any patients around half of Atlantis just because they did not feel as if they could rest in the infirmary or because of any other ridiculous reason people came up with. Colonel Sheppard, being one who was extremely good at sneaking out and avoiding the medical staff, whether it was about a simple after mission check up or some life threatening illness, was one of these people.

When John had been ordered by Carson to lie down beside Evan he had been a bit tense at first, the DADT screaming in his head and the fact that anyone could see them did not make him feel better. But when the curtain closed and it was only him and Evan left in the small space, John felt his body relax and his eyes shutting. It was warm and much more comfortable than in the cave, feeling Evan's body beside him always helped him loosen up and feel good.

Not long after he had lied down, the shivers stopped and he started to feel normal again. Body heat really was the best way to stay warm. Hugging Evan tightly, holding the sleeping man close, John fell into a light slumber. It was quiet in the infirmary, for once there were almost no nurses around, only person who was walking around was Carson, the rest were either asleep or still not enough awake to have any noise. Not that anyone probably would have been making noise, there was a, no loud noises policy in the infirmary enforced by Carson and not many were crazy enough to piss off the man who wielded the needle and knife when one's life was in danger.

John nuzzled Evan's neck unconsciously in his sleep, and because of that missed the content purr coming from Evan. Carson on the other hand who came by to check on them did not miss it, and had to stifle a small snort, grinning at the sight the military commander and his SIC sleeping together on the infirmary bed.

A few hours later John woke up when Evan was trying to wriggle out of his death grip.

"Ev?" murmured John automatically tightening his hold around Evan's waist.

Evan struggled for a short time before he gave up with a small huff, snuggling up as close as he could get to John. Somehow Evan wriggled himself around so that he was facing John, meaning his face was just about on the same level as John's upper chest and collarbones.

"Cold," muttered Evan.

"I know," said John with a sigh. "I thought I had lost you…"

"Sorry," whispered Evan burying his face in John's chest. "I love you John."

At first John had thought that he had heard wrong, usually Evan though much more emotional than John, kept his feelings tightly under wraps when in public and it made John happy to hear Evan say those words to him where anyone could hear them. It showed that Evan trusted him.

"I love you too Ev," whispered John, grinning like an idiot. Pressing his lips to Evan's temple.

"Good, 'casue I'm not letting you go."

"Likewise Major, Likewise."

There was a light atmosphere in their tiny makeshift room, lying awake, John and Evan talked softly, enjoying the feeling of lying there beside each other, exchanging a kiss here and there. They had survived the walk through hell, and were ready to move on in their lives together.

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	6. Chapter 6

**EPILOGUE**

John had been looking for Evan for almost an hour; he had covered almost all of Atlantis when he finally found the other man sitting on a chair with a canvas in front of him. From what John could see Evan was not painting Atlantis like he usually did when he was sitting at a place like this but the setting sun which was almost hidden behind the water already.

"So this is where you're hiding," said John grinning when he saw Evan twitch in surprise turning around to look at him.

"John," said Evan, wiping his hands on a cloth, "don't sneak up on me like that."

"Sneak up? Me?" asked John, donning his most innocent face, "I would never do something like that, never."

Evan snorted and turned his back to John but he did not go back to his painting but moved instead to stand at the railing of the balcony looking out over the sea. John stepped up beside him, both stood in comfortable silence, this was one reason why he loved Evan so much, when it came to moments like these, Evan did not demand him to talk and the silence was never uncomfortable.

"Had a nice day?" asked Evan.

"Nah, boring, I swear the paperwork is trying to take over," said John with a pout, earning a small smile and a snort from Evan.

A light gust of wind blew in over Atlantis and John felt how Evan shivered lightly beside him. Evan was still only on light duty on Carson's orders and was still feeling chilly though it had been two weeks since they had gotten back from 5XS-887. John wrapped his arms around Evan, trying to keep his lover warm, he also noted that Evan was wearing his sweater, a black and kind of thick sweater he almost never used, which was just a bit big for Evan but made him look absolutely adorable.

Not that John would say it out loud, he could still feel the slight pain in his right foot when he remembered the day he had called Evan cute to his face, and it had ended with a small trip to the infirmary. Then again, the pain was so worth it when he thought of the blush that had appeared on Evan's cheeks, making him look even more adorable. A flustered Evan was always a positive thing in John's book.

"Seriously John, if you actually would make some of the paperwork when it arrives then you would not be swimming in it," said Evan.

"Ugh," groaned John in a perfect imitation of McKay, "why is it that everything else here on Atlantis can be done through a computer except for the damned paperwork?"

"You'd have to ask the ancients that," said Evan with a small laugh, "or the scientists."

"Whatever, enough talk about paperwork, how was your day?"

"It was nice," said Evan but he did not elaborate and so John translated it to nothing eventful happened which equaled boring in John's books.

John did not know for how long they stood out there on the balcony but before long it was almost dark and it had gotten a bit chilly when the sun no longer was up.

"Come on, let's get back inside," said John pulling Evan with him, "can't have you stand out in the cold if you want to get back on active duty anytime soon."

They talked and laughed all the way back to their rooms, they had a whole corridor almost all for themselves, separating a bit unwillingly to go their separate ways for the evening. Not that John let Evan go before he had given him a long kiss, licking Evan's lips.

"Good night, Ev," said John.

"Good night, John," said Evan just a bit breathless after the kiss.

5XS-887 was nothing but a bad memory in their past and new problems and adventured waited ahead of them. But for now, things were as they were supposed to be, everyone was safely, back on Atlantis and no problems were seen on the radar.

John fell asleep before his head even touched the pillow, a deep and peaceful sleep with no monsters only a very adorable and blushing Evan.

**-THE END-  
**

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So that was it :)**  
**As always I hope it was readable and that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoued writing it!  
Please review and tell me your final opinion of the story


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